MusicRow Podcast

From Nashville's leading music industry trade publication, The MusicRow Podcast features in-depth conversations with artists and the key industry members behind their music. Hosted by MusicRow Magazine Publisher Sherod Robertson, the series offers unique perspectives from iconic legends and rising talent.

With decades of experience in radio, John Marks has established himself as one of the most prominent tastemakers in the music industry. When he shifted from SiriusXM to Spotify in 2015, everybody wondered what was behind the big move. In this conversation with MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson, Marks explains why the career transition made sense. Now serving as Spotify’s Global Senior Editor/Music Programmer of Country, Marks also offers his insight about playlist curation, advice for new artists, and why streaming is here to stay.

Hall of Fame songwriter Bob DiPiero joins Sherod Robertson, host and the publisher of MusicRow Magazine, to chat about his career and how he found success as one of Nashville's most treasured tunesmiths. Bob DiPiero has had 50 BMI “Million-Air” Awards, multiple Songwriter of the Year Awards and two consecutive Triple Play awards for three No. 1 songs within a 12 month period. His songs include such hits as Reba McEntire’s “Little Rock”, Faith Hill’s “Take Me As I Am” and George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky." And one of his most recent songs, “Boys Like You,” was recorded by Who Is Fancy, featuring Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor.

In this episode, Bob gives us the 411 behind his career. He shares his favorite place to write, how he feels when he hears artists interpret his songs, and offers some really smart advice to anyone thinking about becoming a songwriter. We get all the details about one of his recent writing sessions and talk about his new publishing agreement with Kobalt Music Group.

Hayley Orrantia may be best known for her role on ABC-TV’s hit comedy series The Goldbergs, but music is her first love. Growing up in Texas, she started singing at age 9, and admits to practicing her favorite songs by Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Faith Hill and Martina McBride in front of the mirror with a hairbrush. Today, at age 21, she stars on the show as character “Erica Goldberg,” a teenager who shares her real-life love of music. Orrantia recently released her first country single, “Love Sick.” The frequent Nashville visitor took a break from house-hunting to speak to MusicRow's Publisher Sherod Robertson for this episode of the MusicRow podcast.

MusicRow publisher Sherod Robertson sits down with pop singer and songwriter Who Is Fancy in this week’s podcast episode. The Republic Records artist releases his brand new single, “Boys Like You” today, November 23, which features pop sensations Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor. Fancy’s first hit, “Goodbye,” was released earlier this year under a cloak of mystery. Without revealing its creator’s identity, the song caught fire online, going viral and racking up nearly 20 million cumulative streams over the course of the year. He then enjoyed a high-profile reveal on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, finally unveiling his face and live charisma. Fancy has an impressive industry powerhouse team consisting of Scott Borchetta‘s Big Machine Music Group, Dr. Luke‘s Prescription Songs, manager Scooter Braun and booking agent CAA. In this podcast episode, we talk with the artist about how he became known as Fancy, why the Arkansas native moved to Nashville to follow a dream, and the importance of being true to yourself and finding your purpose within.

In this episode, we catch up with one of the hardest working artists in the industry, The Band Perry. They recently stopped by the MusicRow office to discuss new music and to reflect on their success over the last five years. Our conversation covered a lot of ground– from how they learned to develop a thick skin, their endless desire to grow and develop their art, and where they get such a strong work ethic. As a family band made up of 2 brothers and a sister, we also asked Kimberly, Neil and Reid how they go about making decisions when it comes to important things in their career. On Big Machine’s Republic Nashville label, The Band Perry was named MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist in 2011 and they have gone on to win many awards, including trophies from the CMA, ACM, CMT and a Grammy earlier this year for their recording of Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on my Mind.”

In this episode, we join RCA Records recording artist Chris Young, along with his booking agent, Rob Beckham who co-heads the Nashville office of William Morris. With six No. 1 songs to his credit, Chris shares behind-the-scenes deets on pulling off a successful headlining tour, including what he does backstage before every show. Meeting up in the Keith Whitley conference room inside RCA, we chat about how he has gone from playing small clubs to selling out large venues and what it felt like walking around Berlin during the day and then playing a show that evening.

In MusicRow Magazine's first ever podcast, we sit down with the iconic legend Merle Haggard for an unfiltered conversation about his incredible career, gaining a new crop of young fans and what drives him today after six decades of being America's "poet of the common man.” In this episode, host Sherod Robertson also reaches out to Nashville music industry veteran Hazel Smith to discuss her reflections of "The Hag" and his role in country music.